"Hello? Jackie?"
Branch Rickey began his hail Mary.
"Mr. Rickey?" a familiar voice responded. "What are you calling me for, sir?"
"Jackie...I'm the president of a new baseball league."
Before Branch could continue, Jackie interrupted him.
"I heard about that. It's been all over the news," Jackie responded.
Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson always kept tabs on each other. After all, the two men had immortalized themselves in the game of baseball. Rickey, the first man willing to take a shot on an African American ballplayer, and Robinson the first black player to play in MLB.
"Well, Jackie...we need players."
Jackie interrupted him again.
"Mr. Rickey...you're not about to ask me to come play baseball, are you?"
Branch Rickey's silence was about the loudest thing he could've said.
"Mr. Rickey, I retired almost 5 years ago."
"I know Jackie, but this league needs players. We need players that will put butts in seats and we need players that are good. You can do both of those."
"I don't know about being all that good. Like I said, I haven't played in 5 years," Jackie replied.
"Listen Jack, I've been in contact with the owner of the New York Mets. They are one of the teams in our league. They're willing to pay $100,000 for you to come play. It's just for one season Jackie, then you can go back into retirement."
Jackie fell silent.
"Look at it this way Jack, you'll be the first person to break the color barrier in two leagues. If people didn't know you then, they certainly will now," Rickey quipped.
Jackie chuckled on the other end. "I don't know if I want to go through all that again," Jackie joked back.
"Jackie...we really need you," Rickey said as he let out a sigh.
"Ok Mr. Rickey. One season. That's all I'm giving you."
"One season Jack, that's all I need."
"Ok Mr. Rickey. You've got a deal."
Just like that, Branch Rickey had his first superstar. Lord knows if Jackie still had any ability. He hadn't played in 5 years, is on the wrong side of 40, and has had complications with diabetes, but he needed to start somewhere, and he didn't know anyone better than the man he hitched his career to about 15 years earlier.
